You’ll have to go with third-party sellers since Office 2003 is so old; the Professional Edition sells for about $50 in “Like New” used condition, while a brand new copy was about $95 at the time of writing. There were positive reviews from as recently as August 2015 on this product, so it seems legitimate. Another copy of the Standard Edition is available for $24-35, mostly for items categorized as Open Box.

The stripped-down Student and Teacher Edition, which includes Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint 2003, runs about $50 for a new copy. Reviews from August-September 2015 praise this listing, too, so it’s a good option if you only need the basics.

Note that while upgrade versions are available, they only work correctly if you have an older version of Office on your computer. Unless you have an ancient machine, it’s unlikely you’re using Office 97, so ensure you don’t buy one of these upgrades by mistake because it will not work.

Try LibreOffice

Don’t want to spend money to get Office 2003 or can’t find a satisfactory copy online? Downloading a free alternative might be your best bet; you won’t be using the real Microsoft Office, but a similar interface might be close enough for you.

Make Office 2007 Look Like 2003

Your last option is kind of a weird compromise – acquire an older version of Office (2007) and follow our guide to make it look like 2003. If you don’t already have Office 2007 on your computer, this is a waste since it costs much more than Office 2003.

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matt

December 22, 2015 at 1:06 pm

I spent 13 years developing a program in Office 2003 and it is very broken in Office 2010. Even with so called "Compatibility" mode. I have put a lot of effort into fixing it, and made some progress but there are still serious formatting and other issues with the Forms toolbar text boxes. Also the new toolbars and ribbon are not suitable. So I am going to use Office 2003 instead. Either simultaneously with later Office versions or in Virtual PC mode.

There's a website called OldVersion.com which has downloads of older versions of popular freeware (obviously Office isn't on there). But, their slogan offers some pretty sound advice AFAIC: "Newer is not always better."

Personally, I liked Clippy. Windows updates are often buggy anyway. Who needs them if the program works fine? Eventually as the software grows older hackers won't bother exploiting the few people still wanting an abandonware version, because they tend to be more interested in a greater "payload" -- meaning larger population, more publicity. This is why Russian hackers won't bother going after some mom-and-pop indie bookstore's mailing list in Tumbleweed, Nebraska but will definitely aim for the millions and millions of Target RedCard subscribers' data that they can sell in bulk to data brokers. It's kind of hard to hack the computer system of a 1987 Aries K because it doesn't have one. But the sophisticated systems in today's modern vehicles (especially the ones in luxury cars) are prime for the taking.

I believe this is called security through obscurity. Certainly the majority of people will upgrade just because they either have to or aren't "savvy" enough to seek out retro solutions. And who knows, in the end they may be the only ones left to fight Skynet, because they're the only ones who haven't been nuked by "the cloud"...

I understand some of your points, but I think it reaches a point on the other end, too.

Sure, you don't have to update to Office 2016 just yet, because it's new or might have some issues. (Just look at everyone who bought Assassin's Creed Unity at launch, or any number of other botched software launches). However, if you're on Office 13 and stay on it until 2023, refusing to upgrade, it reaches a point where it's just time to move a bit ahead.

The thing is, technology changes so fast that sometimes the old versions just aren't built for how we use the Web today. Look at Windows XP - it wasn't designed for the multiple connections and tons of programs we run all at once like we do now. And browser makers will stop supporting XP sooner or later, opening up tons of problems there.

Security through obscurity is something Mac users have blindly trusted for years, and it's just not a good idea. I agree with you that Office 2003 isn't a likely target for malicious folk, but still, why use it when more modern versions are available? 2010, at least, would bring you closer to a modern program.

I couldn't believe it, but we found a good number of people that were interested in this topic. I would never run 2003 myself as it's ancient, but we wanted to show you how if you really wanted/needed to.

Ben is a Deputy Editor at MakeUseOf. He holds a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Grove City College, where he graduated Cum Laude and with Honors in his major. He enjoys helping others and is passionate about video games as a medium.